Camp Hill elevator troubles persist

Elevator problems that stretch back to last year are still affecting the Camp Hill Veterans Memorial Building in Halifax.

And the service won’t be fully operational for months, a Capital Health spokeswoman said Saturday.

Two public elevators at Camp Hill serve residents, visitors and others.

One isn’t working, the other has been operating with warning signs alerting users about two potential mechanical issues: sometimes the floor of the elevator car may not be flush with the floor of the building, and the elevator doors could open and close multiple times before shutting completely.

There are also at least two service elevators in the building, which are working.

Susan Dunn of Capital Health told The Chronicle Herald work on the elevators “is ongoing and (the) anticipated finish is October.”

She said in an email the health authority appreciates “the challenges faced by people using the … Camp Hill site when an elevator is out of service, and (thanks) everyone for their patience.”

Dunn said the safety of patients, families, staff and the public “is important to us, and we are taking the time to make sure the elevators are fixed properly.”

The enduring lift problems have been a thorn in the side of users for many months.

Earlier this year, a Halifax woman who regularly visits her elderly father-in-law at Camp Hill, said the situation is inconvenient and making it hard for people living in or visiting the building. The elevator nuisance has, at times, caused lengthy waits for oldsters and others, Lindsay Brown said in February.

Last winter, another Capital Health official, John Gillis, said one elevator was out of service “but to be cost-effective, it makes sense to modernize both during the same period.”

A contract was awarded to ThyssenKrupp and the estimated cost of the project is $350,000, he said. The Health and Wellness Department is covering the full amount.

Camp Hill’s service elevators are sometimes used to speed the movement of people during high-traffic times, Gillis has said.